Road marker



NOV- 25, 1 941. R. J. LIMBERT 2,263,583

ROAD MARKER Filed Dec. 20, 1939 2 sheets-sheet 1 t\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\Y 4 4W NvENToR BYR JL E ATTORNEY Nov. 25, 1941. R. J. LIMBERT 2,263583 ROADMARKER Filed Dec. 2o, 1959 v 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR RoLLlN d; LIMBERTA ORNEY Patented Nov. 25, 1941 i i j MARKER# i n J ..`L`i nv1bert,Conshohocken, Ba.

4' Claims'.

M'ynvention relatesftoa; new-,anniv usefli-lfroad` marker ofizthe.general type1^ disclosed in the Far. rellPatent No. 2.1663669.; f andimore Vparticulallly` toan integrally: molded; multi-color `marker-capable. of easy installation and' permanentv adhesionxtosthe` vroad,v-lith` the. contrasting colors rendering the same clearly. visible indaylight; at

night andunderadverse Weather conditions.

In ordereffectively.r and permanently; tofsecure the rubber facingztoits rig-id base or. backing,v it 10.

" Fig. 11. represents a fragmentary plan; Viewl is necessary to molditherubberonto.` the base. and: it. is undesirable', in making: afmulti-.colored marker, to. haveutoV Vmold separately.: or otherwiseizo/secure to the base, two or :moreseparatepqrtionsoffrubber eachhavingai differenty color, and

therefore my invention still further relatesgto a.

novel method of molding a multicolored mar-ker directly onto, .the baseor backing', which method is the subject-metterci a companionapplication.4 1

My `invention also rsti'llg further rela-tes to.- the noveloonstruotiomo a.; roadinarker made according toimyl` noveltmethod: and;i-n which the body `of the ,marker is colored throughout; its thicknesssoas to. present, regardlessaofwear, contrasting colors, but in 4which,the portions of rubber of different'r colors are thoroughly integratedHand are secured tothe base in one operation andin a permanent manner.

My` invention still further relates V,to a road marker which isinexpensive to; produce aswell as toa novel constructionofithe base orbacking of the marker by means of-1Which Iam enabled to produce amoldedmulti-colored 4marker embodying the features hereinlset forth.

`In the present disclosureuljhave illustratedpthe construction ofamarker of' one color and oi?` a two-color marker but I Wish tov pointout that myV construction.:` lends tselfipto` the. production of roadmarkers having morethan two colors, without any change in .theconstruction. itself and without departing from .the spirit or scope ofthis invention.

Eiga? represents a viewsimilartoyFg. 4

ing a modifiedv form of construction. Fig. 8 represents, on an enlargedscale,l anse; -vtion` on 1i n e\8- 8 o f Fig: 9 represents `a View;4similar toEigsj, fly and,

" 7 showing a further modied form ofconstruchereinafter described isprovided With bottom Fig. 1 represents a planvievv ofza tvvo-color Fig.5 represents a section on line 5.-.-5 of` Fig.

4 but showing therubber facing in. position.

Fig. 6 represents a VView sim-ilarto Fig. 5-taken on the lineS-SofiFiglL .L .Y

tion. Fig. 1 0 represents a View similar to` Fig@ showingy a stillfurthermodified forniV often-.l struction.

Similar to Fig-S- 9 and 10. Showinsfancthermogi.. iication.

Fig. v1,1.- I

Fig. 1-3 isv a fragmentary section-showing a still furtherv modied formofj construction.

Fig; 14 represents a View4 similar toFig-l show .s ing-V a one-colorYroad marker constructedaccord-f. ing to the showing of any of thepreceding ures. V. f. o Referring tothe drawings in which. likefrefaerence characters indicate like part s, and, rnc "e particularly to Fig.l, it will be. `s eenthatv my. marker is composed 'of a central portion`{A} which isof one color andl which is surrounded. the portion t6 Whichis of a contrasting color; the colors beingpreferably` White and orange`ref.. spectively. The marker as a Whole andV irrespecf. ti-ve ofY itsspecilc construction, Whiclfi., Will..l; xey

twisted andY integrallyV formed prongs I8` which depend from theunderside thereof and byineans of which the marker is anchored toaplastieor other cement provided in a recess in r`ti1e"roald` surfacesecurely to-holdthe marker to therdad sur-face. The prongs it?` arepunched. out from and are deflected with respectto the bottom` or baseplate Zitto which therubberf facingsl4` and I6 are secured by adhesionas Well asbythe gimlets 2 2- which are punched out of anddeflectedupwardly with respect; to` the` base-.20 asbest seen in Figs. 5 and 6.With respect to. the rug-. berfaoings I4 and lr6 it will be seen fromFigs. 5.

- and 6 thatthe same are united or integrated at companion .applicationbut which, in the pr application, will be only incidentally referred toin order more clearly to explain the present invention. Thus the rubberfacings I4 and I6 are positioned in a mold which is provided with avertical partition of the thickness and height or depth of the annularslit 26 so that, when compressed and processed, the facings I4 and I6will present the smooth and slightly convexed continuous surface 28while the bottom portions of the facings I4 and I6 are allowed to iiowtogether and become integrated into a continuous solid bottom portion.The molding of the rubber facings I4 and I6 on the base plate 20 forcesthe rubber around the frayed and jagged, downwardly deflected edges 30of the grummets 22 thus interlocking the rubber facings I4 and AI6 tothe base plate 20. punched out of the base plate 20 and thus leavecorrespondingly shaped openings 32, and in order to prevent the rubberor other plastic, from which the marker may be made, from flowingthrough the openings 32 during the molding operation, I have devised andutilized a barrier or auxiliary plate which is best seen in Fig. 4 andwhich is generally designated with the numeral 34. The plate 34 may be acompletely solid plate positioned over the base plate 20 and, While thatconstruction will do, I have found that in the Since the prongs I8 are`interest of lightness, and in order to strengthen Y the bond between therubber facings I4 and I6 and the base 20, best results are obtained byproviding the cut outs 36 which correspond in their position to thedistribution of the gimlets 22 so that the gimlets 22, when punchedout-` wardly and upwardly from the base 20 will project through openings36. This provides a greater Wearing surface of facing above the edges ofthe gimlets 22 and also provides a greater depth or thickness for thefacing to interlock with and below the edges 30 than if the gimlets 22,for instance, were to be punched out of the barrier or any auxiliaryplate 34. The solid portions 38 of the plate 34, and which portionsintervene between the cut-outs or openings 36, in turn correspond to andcover the openings 32 in the base plate 20 thus blocking the openings 32and preventing the extrusion of the facing material therefrom while thefacing material in its plastic state is being applied to and molded uponthe base plate 20. The plate 34 is preferably, slightly smaller indiameter than the base plate 20 as best seen from Figs. 4, 5 and 6 andit is also spot-welded so as to be permanently and rigidly secured tothe base plate 20.

' The material of the facings I4 and I6 also tends to interlock with theinternal edges of the openings or cut-outs 36 thus adding to theadhesion of the facings to the plates 20 and 34. Since the function ofthe plate 34 is primarily to block the various openings 32 caused by theformation of the prongs I8, and secondarily to reinforce theconstruction, it follows that within theA scope of my invention theplate 34 can be varied in its construction while still effectivelyperforming the required function, and, by way of illustration, I have,in Figs. 'l and 8, utilized the discs 40 each of which is spot-welded orotherwise suitably secured to the upper face of the plate 20 inregistration with and covering one of the openings 32, there being asmany discs 40 employed as there are openings 32. This is a cheaperconstruction since the relatively small discs 40 can be punched out ofwaste and scrap metal which is a by product from some othermanufacturing process and the discs 40, in addition to preventing thematerial from running out of the holes 32, also serve to reinforce theplate 20 at the area adjacent to the edges of the openings 32.

In Fig. 9 I have shown a still further modified form in which, in lieuof the plate 34 or the separate discs 40, I employ a plurality of discs42 interconnected by the arms 44 so that three of the discs 42 can behandled at one time, and in Figs. 'l and 9, in which there are eightopenings 32 along the outer periphery and four openings 32 about thecenter of the base plate 20, it is only necessary to handle four unitsin order `to cover all twelve openings instead of having to use twelvediscs 40 as in the construction shown in Fig.. 7.

In Fig. 10 I have shown a still further modification of the plate 34 inwhich I utilize a spider construction having the central hub 46 which initself covers the centrally disposed openings 32 and from which radiatethe arms 48 which carry the outer ringlike .member 50 which is providedwith the round portions 52 for registering with and covering the outeropenings 32. In the construction illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, and dueto the fact that they are only intended to show possible modificationsof the reinforcing and barrier plate 34, I deemed it unnecessary to showthe gimlets 22, but it is to be understood that the gimlets 22 in theconstruction shown in Fig. 9 will be distributed throughout the baseplate 20 in the spaces or intervals between the discs 42 and arms 44,and in the construction shown in Fig. 10 the gimlets can projectupwardly through the central openings 54 or through the spaces 56intermediate the arms 48.

Since the function of the auxiliary plate 34 in Fig. 4, the discs 40 inFig. 8, the discs 42 and arms 44 in Fig. 9, and the hub 46 and discs 52of Fig. 10, is primarily to cover the openings 32 resulting from thepunching out of the prongs I8, I have shown in Fig. 11 a still furthermodified form of construction in which I dispense with all of theauxiliary plates or discs just referred to by punching out of the plate2D the discs 60 which discs are slightly larger than the openings 32,said discs being deflected through an angle of 180 and made to restagainst their adjacent openings 32 thus covering the openings 32 andreinforcing their edges. The punching out of the discs naturally leavescorresponding openings 62, but these openings are not objectionablesince, during the molding operation, these openings 62 are blocked olfor covered and closed by the corresponding solid portion of the mold,whereas the portion of the mold corresponding to the openings 32 must beopen in order to accommodate the prongs I 8. In other words, the mold inwhich this rmarker is made comprises two parts, one corresponding to theupper surface of the marker as shown in Fig. 1, and the other part ofthe mold corresponds to the bottom surface of the rmarker as shown inFig. 3, and the second half of the mold must necessarily have as manyapertures in it as there are prongs I8. The portions of the moldcorresponding to the solid areas between the openings 32 are solidthemselves, so that, if there were to be an opening in the plate 20 suchas the opening 62, such opening will be closed by the body of the moldand will not permit extrusion of the material of the facing during theoperation.

In Fig. 13 I have shown a further modied form of construction in whichthe auxiliary plate shown in any of the foregoing figures is secured tothe base plate 20 by the simple expedient of the grummets 22 punched outof the base plate 2B and swedged on top of the auxiliary plate (such asthe plate 34), the grummets 22 being either additional grummets forsecuring the base plate and auxiliary plate together, or being the samegrummets to which the rubber facing is secured, it being understood thatin Fig. 13 the rubber facing is omitted.

In Fig. 14 I have shown a road marker which is identical in its methodof molding, as well asv in its construction, as the marker shown in Fig.1 except that the facing of the marker in Fig. 14 is made of one solidcolor throughout instead of the correspondingly colored portions I4 andI6 as shown in Fig. 1, it being also understood that any of themodifications shown in Figs. 4, 7, 8, 10 or 11 can be embodied in theconstruction of the marker shown in Fig. 14, but, inasmuch as the onlydifference is the absence of the slit 26 which separates the contrastingrubber portions I4 and I6, it was not deemed necessary to reiterate theentire description or duplicate all the drawings in connection with thesingle piece and one-color marker in Fig. 14.

With respect to the prongs I8, while I have shown and described the sameas being twisted, it is to be understood that the same can be punchedout straight as they will serve equally well, and more particularlybecause, when the marker is placed in position on the road surface andtamped down, the initially straight prongs will become more or lessdeflected and twisted for effective engagement. Also, with respect tothe gimlets or grummets 22, while they are helpful in the engagement orinterlocking of the rubber facing with the base plate, I have found thatdue to my novel method of manufacture the rubber facing can be made toadhere to the base without the grummets 22.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A road marker comprising a base plate, a plurality of fasteningprongs punched out of said plate and projecting at an angle with respectto one side thereof, whereby a plurality of openings are formed in saidbase plate, a second plate superimposed upon the other side of saidplate for closing said openings, and a facing secured to the side ofsaid base plate opposite to the side with respect to which said prongsproject.

2. A road marker comprising a base plate, a plurality of prongs punchedout of said plate and projecting at an angle with respect to one sidethereof whereby a plurality of openings are formed in said base plate,an auxiliary plate having openings therein and solid portions betweensaid openings, said auxiliary plate being secured to the other side ofsaid base plate with the solid portions of said auxiliary plate coveringthe openings in said base plate, and a facing secured to said base plateand said auxiliary plate.

3. A road marker comprising a base plate, a plurality of prongs punchedout of said base plate and projecting at an angle with respect t0 oneside thereof whereby a plurality of openings are formed in said baseplate, a plurality of closures punched out of said base plate at pointsadjacent to said openings, said closures being deflected upon themselvesand brought into registration with said openings, and a facing securedto the side of said base plate opposite to the side with respect towhich said prongs project.

4. A road marker comprising a base plate, a fastening prong punched outof said base plate and projecting at an angle with respect to theunderside thereof, whereby an opening is formed in said base plate, aclosure superimposed on the upper face 'of said base plate for closingsaid opening, a grommet punched upwardly through said base plate, theupper rim of said grommet being swedged downwardly, and a facing securedto the upper side of said base plate.

ROLLIN J. LIMBERT.

